Lungani Zungu
Health Minister Zweli Mkhize and his son allegedly pocketed money from Digital Vibes, the communications company which bagged a R150-million contract from the health department.
The contract was initially for communications about the National Health Insurance (NHI) rollout but then was expanded to include getting information out to the public about Covid-19.
The Daily Maverick broke the story about how the little known Digital Vibes included people close to Mkhize.
On Wednesday, Mkhize denied he benefitted from the contract or should have declared a conflict of interest. This is despite the fact that the health department’s investigators of Covid funding looting — Ngubane Tax Assurance Advisory Firm — reported that the appointment and subsequent payment of R150 million to Digital Vibes was irregular. The Special Investigative Unit is also looking into the contract.
But on Friday evening the Daily Maverick published detailed allegations of kickbacks for his family.
It reported that Digital Vibes made at least two payments totalling R7,000 to a contractor for maintenance and repair work at a Johannesburg property owned by Mkhize’s ZLM Trust.
The Daily Maverick also reported that the company paid at least R300,000 to a company owned by Mkhize’s son, Dedani, 33.
Mkhize’s wife, Dr May Mkhize, was quoted as saying she was “shocked” by the damning fresh revelations.
According to the Daily Maverick, all of the money Digital Vibes made in 2020, during which Digital Vibes made these transfers, came from the health department.
Mkhize’s close allies Tahera Mather and Naadhira Mitha were alleged to be pulling the strings behind Digital Vibes.
Calls are growing for Mkhize to resign.
Repeated attempts by Scrolla.Africa to contact him on Friday were unsuccessful.
On Friday, Chris Vick, a veteran communications expert, wrote in the Daily Maverick that a volunteer group of 30 communications professionals, Covid Comms, had approached the government in early 2020 to offer free advice on communicating complicated scientific details about Covid to the public. Vick said that after an enthusiastic response from the presidency, he contacted Mather who never followed up on the offer. Vick’s article was headlined: “The real tragedy is they chowed the money that could have been used to save lives.”
